LABOUR’S Worcester parliamentary candidate Joy Squires has taken some flak from city Tories who say she’s posted an “outright lie” about group leader Simon Geraghty on Twitter by stating he wants to sell the Guildhall.
As sorry an incident it may have been, she’s not the only politician to get carried away with their definition of reality, including MP Robin Walker.
The Tory MP was challenged on Twitter by a resident this week, aghast at the fact his council tax bill is going up to an eye watering £1,811 a year from next month.
Mr Walker’s response?
He said “sadly Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Greens all voted to put it up”, adding Tory councillors supported a freeze.
Worcester City Council increased its portion of the bill by 1.9 per cent, but because it only gets 11 per cent of the total council tax income that particular decision will cost each household less than £4 a year. That's right, a year.
The main reason for a noticeably higher bill is because Worcestershire County Council, which takes 72 per cent of the money you pay, opted for the same percentage rise.
Yes, the Conservative-controlled county council.
* CHANCELLOR George Osborne used part of his Budget speech on Wednesday to proclaim how the Government is helping hard-working people by “freezing council tax” - is he having a laugh?
It didn’t go down well at The Hive, where the Federation of Small Businesses screened the event to a live audience.
During the Q&A afterwards angry punters in the audience quite rightly pointed out it was utter tosh, saying far from seeing a freeze, in this county bills are actually going up.
Mind you, Judi Brazkiewicz, the FSB’s regional secretary, summed Mr Osborne’s far-fetched claims up very well.
She told the room the people running the country are “shysters”.
* SPARE a thought for Councillor Adrian Gregson, the all-powerful leader of Worcester City Council, who's a Manchester United fan.
One of his former colleagues says back in the ‘old days’ he was even known to wear his Reds shirt to council meetings.
If he fancies it there may be a job going at Old Trafford this summer.
* THE Source is beginning to feel pity for Fran Oborski, our solitaire-playing Liberal who doesn’t seem to give a flying monkeys about how she presents herself.
After our coverage of how she was spotted playing the game on her iPad during a budget meeting caught the attentions of Private Eye, she didn’t half take the hump.
She told them “you’re just after some filth”, and said: “Look, in the chamber half are reading newspapers and the other half are on the web”.
A member of the public was offended enough to send her a letter suggesting she resign, saying she’d have more time for “solitaire, battleships, noughts and crosses”.
Deary me.
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